Panorama of Sydney Harbour with the opera house to the left, Financial district in the middle, and the harbour bridge to the right.

Sydney has been named the world's most reputable city, edging out rival Melbourne for the top spot in an international study.

The Reputation Institute, which calls itself "the world's leading research and advisory firm for reputation," released its City RepTrak report which put Sydney at number one. The study combines statistics around "appealing environment," including the city's beauty and appealing experiences; "effective government" which includes safety, well-respected leaders, transport and infrastructure; and "advanced economy" including stable future growth and technology.

After tallying the points, Sydney scored 79.1 out of 100, just pipping Melbourne on 78.9 points. The two Australian cities were the only southern hemisphere cities on the list and along with Vancouver (fifth spot) were the only non-European cities to make the top 10.

Stockholm, Vienna, Barcelona, Edinburgh, Geneva, Copenhagen and Venice rounded out the rest of the most reputable cities.

Sydney has been in the top three of every report since 2011, while this is only Melbourne's second inclusion on the City RepTrak list after being named 10th most reputable city in 2012.

Sydney ranked third for effective administration, ninth for advanced economy and seventh for appealing environment, while Melbourne placed second, eighth and outside the top ten respectively.

"Both cities are the most heavily populated in the region and stand out for the public’s perception of the quality of their institutions, strong economy and attractive environment," the report's authors said.